The Messenge (Iva and Nick) novel Chapter 434

<Third Trial I

Third Trial I

The staircase seemed to descend into the very heart of darkness.

+25 Pointe

Caleb had no idea how long he had been walking when he finally reached the bottom, but every step had felt heavier than the last, as though the pain left behind by the second circle had settled into his bones and decided to make a home there.

His chest still ached from the images he had witnessed in the mirror, and whenever he closed his eyes, he saw Iva smiling at another man, Youssef laughing in another man’s arms, and the future he had secretly dreamed of slipping through his fingers.

He kept walking because stopping meant remembering.

And remembering meant breaking.

“You need to pull yourself together,” Chaos muttered, although his own voice sounded strangely distant inside Caleb’s mind. “We have come too far to let that cursed mirror destroy us.”

“I know.”

“Do you? Because right now, I can barely tell whether you are walking or dragging us through this

miserable hole.”

Caleb almost smiled at the familiar irritation in his Lycan’s voice, but the expression never reached

his lips.

Chaos was suffering too, despite putting a hard look.

Usually, his inner Lycan was a powerful, relentless presence, a beast whose instincts were sharp enough to detect danger long before Caleb’s human senses registered it. Now, however, he seemed withdrawn, his growls weaker and his thoughts occasionally interrupted by long stretches

of silence.

Caleb felt as though someone had turned him inside out, leaving every vulnerable part of him exposed to the cold.

He had endured the first circle’s impossible demand and the second circle’s cruel vision of a future

without Iva. He had refused to sacrifice innocent lives, and he had accepted the possibility that the

woman he loved might never return to him.

What else could this place possibly demand?

His life?

His blood?

TUE

OO 13 OOG

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Thad Trial!

His soul?

+25 Points

He would have given any of them without hesitation if it meant saving Iva, but the uncertainty of what lay ahead was slowly gnawing away at his strength.

The tunnel finally widened.

A soft, golden light spilled across the floor, illuminating an enormous archway carved from a dark

stone that shimmered like the surface of a moonlit lake. Beyond it, something glowed with such

extraordinary brilliance that Caleb instinctively raised an arm to shield his eyes.

He stepped through.

And stopped.

The room was filled with precious stones.

Thousands of them.

They covered the walls, the floor, and countless pedestals arranged in seemingly endless rows, each stone resting upon a small cushion of black velvet or suspended inside a transparent sphere. Some were no larger than a fingernail, while others were the size of a man’s fist. Diamonds glittered beside emeralds, sapphires shimmered beneath translucent crystals, and unfamiliar gems radiated colours Caleb had never seen in the natural world.

Some pulsed with soft blue light.

Others burned with an inner crimson fire.

A handful appeared to contain tiny storms, miniature galaxies, or entire landscapes trapped behind their polished surfaces. One stone displayed a miniature forest in which silver trees swayed beneath a purple sky, while another seemed to hold a tiny sun that brightened and dimmed with

each passing second.

The air vibrated with magic.

Caleb slowly turned in place, trying to take in the impossible spectacle.

“Well,” he murmured, “at least this place knows how to make an impression.”

“Don’t touch anything,” Chaos warned immediately.

“I wasn’t planning to.”

“You say that now. Give you another five minutes, and you’ll probably start poking the stones to see whether they bite.”

Despite everything, Caleb released a faint breath that almost resembled a laugh.

OO 13

TUE

OOG

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<Thad Trial I

Then the ancient voice filled the chamber.

*Welcome to the third circle, Caleb Adama.*

C +25 Points

The words seemed to emerge from every stone simultaneously, creating a chorus that vibrated through the floor and settled beneath his skin.

*The final trial is one of judgment. The first circle tested the weight of your heart. The second revealed the truth of your devotion. The third will determine whether you possess the wisdom to make the right choice.*

Caleb’s gaze travelled across the glittering room.

“And what exactly am I supposed to choose?”

*The Velinthra.*

The name seemed to change the atmosphere.

Several stones brightened. A deep hum travelled through the chamber, and the countless gems

scattered across the room appeared to shimmer in response to a presence none of them could

see.

*Identify the true Velinthra, and you may leave this realm with the Stone. Choose incorrectly, and you will remain here forever, trapped within the Hall of Lost Hopes, with no possibility of returning

to your world.*

Caleb’s jaw tightened.

“Forever?”

*Forever.*

“And I get how many attempts?”

*One.*

The answer came without hesitation.

*You may select one stone. You may make one choice. Once your hand touches the stone you

have selected, your decision cannot be undone.*

The chamber fell silent.

Caleb stared at the countless gems.

There had to be thousands of them. Perhaps tens of thousands. They occupied every visible surface, and beyond the first rows, more pedestals stretched into the distance until they

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